Description: Tom believes, even in this cynical modern
world, in the notion of a transforming, cosmically destined,
lightning-strikes-once kind of love. Summer doesn't. Not at
all. But that doesn't stop Tom from going after her, again
and again, like a modern Don Quijote, with all his might and
courage. Suddenly, Tom is in love not just with a lovely,
witty, intelligent woman -- but with the very idea of
Summer, the very idea of a love that still has the power to
shock the heart and stop the world. The fuse is lit on Day 1
when Tom, a would-be architect turned sappy greeting card
writer, encounters Summer, his boss's breezy, beautiful new
secretary, fresh off the plane from Michigan. Though
seemingly out of his league, Tom soon discovers he shares
plenty in common with Summer. By Day 31, things are moving
ahead, albeit "casually." By Day 32, Tom is irreparably
smitten, living in a giddy, fantastical world of Summer on
his mind. By Day 185, things are in serious limbo -- but not
without hope. And as the story winds backwards and forwards
through Tom and Summer's on-again, off- again, sometimes
blissful, often tumultuous dalliance -- all of which adds up
to a kaleidoscopic portrait of why, and how, we still
struggle so laughably, cringingly hard to make sense of love
and to hopefully make it real.

The Film:

We never remember in chronological order, especially when we’re going
back over a failed romance. We start near the end, and then hop around
between the times that were good and the times that left pain. People
always say “start at the beginning,” but we didn’t know at the time it
was the beginning. "500 Days of Summer" is a movie that works
that way.

Some say they’re annoyed by the way it begins on Day 488 or whatever and
then jumps around, providing utterly unhelpful data labels: "Day 1,"
"Day 249." Movies are supposed to reassure us that events unfold in an
orderly procession. But Tom remembers his love, Summer, as a series of
joys and bafflements. What kind of woman likes you perfectly sincerely
and has no one else in her life but is not interested in ever getting
married?

Zooey Deschanel is a good choice to play such a woman. I
can’t imagine her playing a clinging vine. Too ornery. As
Summer, she sees Tom with a level gaze and is who she is.
It’s Tom’s bad luck she is sweet and smart and beautiful —
it’s not an act. She is always scrupulously honest with him.
She is her own person, and Tom can’t have her.

500 days of Summerappears
on
Blu-ray
from Fox in a 1080P, AVC encoded, 2.35:1 transfer. The image
is slightly thick and not notably detailed. There is
textured grain visible, but much more so in the 1:33 shots
of flashbacks or black + white mock-ups of vintage classics
(mini Godard and Bergman homage). This
is dual-layered and while doesn't explode with 1080P glory -
I do get the impression we are viewing a faithful
representation of the theatrical. Being the bittersweet
humanistic comedy that it is - the visuals don't take as
high a priority as in other genres. Colors seem
intentionally flatter (heavy use of blue) to add to the film's intended 1950-ish
look and feel (although the film is NOT set in that era) -
and it is darker overall.
Skin tones seem more yellow/orange that one might expect. This
Blu-ray
appears as an authentic representation although it won't
knock your socks off with the pristine beauty of the image
quality. It is fairly tame
visually but this
Blu-ray
supports the film well enough - producing a consistent
viewing standard with good contrast. It's middle of the road
not - neither being lackluster or brilliant. It certainly
works for the film though.

Audio :

The
DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 3405 kbps is never really pushed to the
max with this mostly dialogue driven film. It comes more into play for
the film's music - a light breezy score by Mychael Danna + Rob Simonsen
and a ton of tracks from Simon & Garfunkel Hall to Oats to The Clash

.
It sounds flawless. There are optional subtitles and my Momitsu
has identified
it as being a region 'A'-locked disc.

Extras :

Extras are
extensive with many being exclusive to the
Blu-ray
(so NOT on the simultaneously released SD-DVD). The audio commentary
with director Marc Webb, the writers Scott Neustadter + Michael H. Weber
and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a fun affair with some laughs and
pauses before the next humorous note is struck. Webb gives some
production information and the writers give some input claiming about
75% of the film was based on things that really happened. It's fun to
see them pause and talk about Zooey Deschanel - or, at least her bright
visage. The grouping argue about interpretations of small issues in the
film and discuss relationships frankly. It's a decent listen. There are
15-minutes of 9 deleted and extended scenes with optional audio
commentary. There are 7 minutes of inconsequential audition tapes with
Geoffrey Arend and Matthew Gray Gubler. There is more than an hour's
worth of other tidbits including 2 Storyboards sequences with optional
commentary, Making of... entitled Not a Love Story: Making
(500) Days of Summer, Summer at Sundance footage and six
conversations with Zooey and Joseph last 12-minutes. What was kind of
cool - and I wished was longer were the 'Filmmaking Specials'. The
Webb's Bank Dance short film and the amusing Mean's Cinemash: Sid
and Nancy piece were very cool expanding on scenes from the film.
Both could have been much longer but I imagine some real work went into
producing these. There is a music video and you get a Digital Copy disc
for use with your portable devices.

BOTTOM LINE: This is a very good film. While my reaction as not as exhilarating
as some of the critical response that I've read - I do admit
that this is amusing and very 'real' in a certain sense. It
balances between showing some depth of the human condition
and being just being light, fluffy and entertaining. The
Blu-ray does the job but don't expect the A/V to approach demo levels.
It's not that type of film anyway - but is IS recommended
for its strong qualities as being quite memorable (Dance
sequence in the park is GREAT!) with plenty of supplements
to indulge in.

Gary Tooze

December 11th, 2009

About the Reviewer:
Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film
since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was
around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my
horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out
new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500
DVDs and have reviewed over 3500 myself. I appreciate my
discussion Listserv for furthering my film
education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver.
Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our
Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. So be
it, but film will always be my first love and I list my
favorites on the old YMdb site now accessible
HERE.